A BREAK FOR A SMILE

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There are times when the intensity of a scene – or a series of scenes – translates to tension in the body. At these times I look for a way to ease the tension.

  • Do Housework
  • Go for a walk
  • Go bug another hapless soul
  • Listen to some music

That doesn’t always help. Much of my favorite music has found its way into a novel playlist.

  • Watch a music video

It was this last that got me this evening. It’s a blast from the past but one that makes me smile so I thought I’d share it here.

Enjoy!

Now back to work…

COLONY: BUILDING THE BRIDGE

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Pacing is oh such fun.

Not.

I’m not talking about pacing a story – I’m talking about pacing my mind which at the moment is like a runaway train going through the mountain that is Adrift, the first Sequence in the Colony Series under construction.

I can count on one hand the number of times this has happened but it’s painful when it does.

It takes restless mind to a whole new level.

Under the Covers.  The issue has its roots in excitement. 

Specifically, of what’s to come.

The Idea.  A story has a beginning, an idea that may start as a small vibration of energy at the edge of consciousness, which grows if it is deemed by the deeper layers of consciousness that perceive the vibration to be more than a ripple in the creative field.

If I’m lucky I’ll get a glimpse of characters as this allows me to get a visual which provides details I hadn’t consciously thought of yet, details that can be used for backstory or various plot elements.  

Mental Movie.  Colony is a little different in that I spent a lot of energy mentally incubating it rather than starting a draft and allowing it to surface through the creative energy that uses my fingers on the keyboard to get through.

In this regard it’s similar to how Metatron’s Army came to be though I did write a draft of that one right off so this truly is different.

Construction.  Deciding I was ready to start I went through the routine steps of setting up the various documents, organizing them, setting up a backup routine, creating the artwork to go with it, etc.

Lots of work happens before Chapter One is ever laid out.

Floodgate.  Once I started typing, it was as if a floodgate was open.  

And therein lay the problem.

All these ideas came tumbling forward and while I appreciate that I have them they are somewhat disruptive to the writing effort.

Okay, they are very disruptive.

Mental Movie Take 2:  I thought if I gave time and energy to the scenes vying for my attention it might bring a bit of calm to a mind filled with excitement over the possible ways I could develop various plot lines. 

It didn’t.

Like a bratty kid who now has a way to get an adult’s attention, the creative energy behind this particular storyline is being relentless in introducing new possibilities.

And to think about a month ago I worried my creative source was drying up, no doubt the result of mental fatigue.

Adapt and Go.  I’m hoping I get to a point where the excitement of future scenes settles, perhaps due to an inner confidence that it will all come together.  

I’m confident it will all come together. Someone needs to tell the creative source!

Calming the mind to focus on the actual writing will be awfully difficult otherwise.

In the meantime?  I’m splitting my time between mental movies and putting fingers to the keyboard.

And Adrift is taking shape.

PULLING THE THREAD

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I’m what some might call a synchronicity junkie.  

I think it stems from having a gift for pattern recognition.

Though I don’t see an omen every time I open my eyes I do acknowledge that wonderful and often amazing coincidences may be messages from the universe.  As such I hold those who act as the messenger in high regard.

Many times people don’t even know they’ve been one making it all the better.

Grasping a Thread.  Several months back a friend asked a question, followed by what would seem an innocuous comment about goals.  Though I responded that updating my goals was on my to-do list, I didn’t do much other than jot a few down.

I set the list aside and haven’t looked at it since.

Pulling a Thread.  What neither of us realized at the time was that her harmless bit of polite conversation let loose energy that had been blocked behind other more pressing needs.

It was the total disruption of the pandemic that allowed for the space in which to address those needs clearing the way to circle back to the goals.

The Spool Unwinds.  As the holidays approached, I was putting the finishing touches on Redemption.  Without a looming deadline I decided to turn my attention back to the goals, focusing on professional ones first.  Before Redemption even hit the press, I’d totally revamped my goals.

I even managed to work in a few personal ones.

The Empty Spool.  By the time the New Year rolled around I’d completely revamped my web presence in a manner that reflected the updated goals.  It was time to turn my energy back to writing.  

It IS Empty!  The mental and emotional energy spent throughout the intense process that spanned months left me struggling to get started.

I was spent.

Pick Up The Thread.  Though I recognized the need for a break I also knew what would happen if I went much longer without writing.

Panic!

My mind would look for another place to focus and the next thing I know I’d be doing housework!

Cleaning a house that I’d already cleaned.

To prevent such a downward spiral, I went through the motions of writing the next story.

Fortunately, there’s plenty of up-front work to do before I even start typing the first chapter; work that can still make me feel productive.

Pick Up The Spool.  As I allowed my energy to recharge, I tested the waters for which of the three stories under consideration I would work on first – by thinking about it.

It’s Still Empty.  At this point I realized that while I was comfortable with my choice and the follow-on steps to make it happen, there were problems.  

Problems I didn’t understand the nature of though I knew it wasn’t mental exhaustion.  I had recharged enough to get back to writing.

I decided to hand the problem over to my subconscious.

I have a trick to help this process using what I learned about the alpha frequency in the Silva Method.

When that didn’t do it, I pulled out the big guns.

Event Horizon.

For several days I worked through Event Horizon exercises, focusing on a variety of topics only some of which were related to my career.

I gained insight into a number of other non-career concerns and even got the plot for a new series.

Freed of mental clutter I was able to start on the novel.  

However…

The Unraveling Continues.  This morning while I was going through the routine that primes the creative pump I came to see that the reason I was having trouble was because my goal revamping wasn’t finished.

I debated between running an Event Horizon session or the Free Cell session.

As I’d just done several EVs I decided to try the FC.

I listened to music from novel inspired playlists while playing rounds of Free Cell.  

It’s so mindless my mind relaxes – aka Silva Method Daydream State AND Stare – so I can focus on problem solving.

The Free Cell method showed that since the goals for my career changed the goals of the series needed to change too.  As I followed this thought through David Bowie and other artists I identified flaws not in the series but with some of the characters.

They were too shallow or otherwise had flaws that were going to cause problems in the very near future.

I’m happy to say that I worked everything out and now have a roadmap forward.

And all because of an innocent question…

Stay tuned.

REDEMPTION NOW AVAILABLE

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I am pleased to announce that Redemption, a Dragon Core story, is available for purchase.

It’s one of the longest books I’ve written.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this story and it’s turned into one of my favorites.

Along with Metatron’s Legacy which was a joy because, taking place twenty years after Adjudication, I had freedom to write a story related to but outside the series.

I have other novels I love for a variety of reasons but these two do stand out.

So much so I find myself reading them just for pleasure.

I have a number of projects in the queue

  • Videos
  • Website Content
  • Another Dragon Core story

Stay tuned!